De Pere, WI (NBC 26) -- From voting in the November election to getting a flu shot, many across northeast Wisconsin are finding new ways this fall to get the jobs done in a socially distanced manner.
City clerks across northeast Wisconsin are seeing record numbers of absentee ballot requests for the upcoming election. De Pere City Clerk, Carey Danen says in the April election an estimated 85 percent of her jurisdiction voted absentee in large part because of the pandemic.
"I think in general that's the reason for the increase in the absentee requests are that the people don't want to be exposed at the polls on election day."
Danen says most municipalities are now offering absentee voters an alternative to mailing their vote in. An option that appeals to some concerned about their ballot not being counted after being mailed in.
"You know there were a couple of random stories here and there about some ballots that never got delivered in past elections. So I think that has some people a little more concerned. They want to make sure that their vote is counted."
Danen says now voters can drop them off their absentee ballots at their clerk's office, and in many cases voters won't even having to go indoors to do so.
"We have a built-in 24-hour drop box that is built flush into the side of our building that was typically used for water bill payments. We've repurposed that to also be our official absentee ballot box."
But it's not just voters who are looking to isolate as much as possible right now, local health care provider Bellin Health now has plans to offer flu shots to the public from the comfort of their car.
"People are worried about coming in and co-mingling with people who could potentially have COVID," says Jill Spejcher a registered nurse and clinical operations leader at Bellin Health.
Spejcher says starting this weekend 15 separate drive-thru flu shot clinics will be opening up in northeast Wisconsin stretching across Brown, Marinette, and Oconto counties.
"We're cutting down on the amount of people within our clinics to allow social distancing and we're providing more convenience to our patients."
So if you are apprehensive about voting or even getting your flu shot, there are now some new options to help you protect yourself.
For more information about absentee ballot drop-boxes, contact your municipality directly to find out where your location is. Brown county locations can be found here.
For more information about Bellin Health drive-thru flu shots, click on this link.
